A house destroyed during a shelling of Donetsk's Oktyabrsky district by the Ukrainian military.
(RIA Novosti / Irina Gerashchenko)
/ RIA Novosti

The heads of the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Lugansk Republics in eastern Ukraine have asked the United Nations Security Council to establish an international tribunal to investigate and prosecute those responsible for waging civil war in Donbass.

“Donetsk People’s Republic [DNR] and Lugansk [LNR] People’s
Republic are addressing the UN Security Council with a plea to
establish an international tribunal for legal prosecution of
those responsible for violation of the International Humanitarian
Law and crimes against humanity in Ukraine,” the DNR head,
Aleksandr Zakharchenko, and LNR head Igor Plotnitsky said at a
joint press conference.

The heads of the unrecognized republics are calling for the
leaders of Russia, the US, China, Great Britain and France to
consider this proposal at the next UNSC session.

“Expecting your soonest reply to the proposal,”
Plotnitsky said.

Aleksandr Zakharchenko said Kiev’s operation in Donbass is "a
direct violation of the Geneva convention.”

"Not one death will be forgotten. Those responsible for the
deaths of our women and children, for every human loss that took
place, they will be called to account," said Zakharchenko.

"Dear Ukrainian soldiers! Please do not think that coming to
Donbass means coming to Wonderland. According to your deeds will
be it done to you. If you kill, torture and rape here, an equal
calamity will come to your home. We’re going to find you at the
world's end," Zakharchenko added.

The military operation in eastern Ukraine began in spring last
year after residents in the Donetsk and Lugansk Regions refused
to recognize the coup-imposed government in Kiev.

On February 12, in Minsk, peace negotiations between the two
sides resulted in a second ceasefire agreement. The first was
signed in summer 2014 and was violated practically immediately.
The current ceasefire is also being violated on a frequent basis.
Shelling in the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Lugansk People’s
Republics happens every other day, with each side pointing the
finger at the other.

Zakharchenko said the prosecutors’ offices of both republics have
collected copious evidence of war crimes committed by Kiev
troops.

“There is a considerable volume of evidence of the Ukrainian
National Guards’ involvement in torture and killing of civilians.
Dozens of mass graves have been found on territory that was
occupied by Ukrainian troops,” Zakharchenko said.

The DNR and LNR also have evidence of Ukrainian troops using
weapons prohibited by the international arms conventions,
including cluster and phosphorous bombs.

Since the beginning of 2015 an estimated 1,212 civilians,
including 25 children, have died in shelling incidents.

According to DNR and LNR statistics, since the start of the
conflict, 3,684 civilians have been killed in both republics,
including 522 women and 65 children.

UN data states there were 6,417 deaths in the Ukrainian conflict
from mid-April 2014 to May 30, 2015, with an estimated 15,962
people wounded. The war has affected around 5 million, of which
about 1.2 million became refugees.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko estimates the conflict’s
death toll to be nearly 9,000: about 1,800 servicemen and 7,000
civilians.

Over the 15 months of the conflict 4,868 buildings and private
households have been destroyed, among them 63 hospitals, 150
schools and 135 kindergartens.

In addition, 1,616 infrastructure installations have been damaged
or leveled completely, including factories, mines, power stations
and waterways.

There are tens of thousands of buildings in the Donbass region
that suffered minor damage.

Over 6,200 people were invalided. More than 2,000 people in
Donetsk People's Republic are missing.

The UN watchdog notes that these statistics are conservative and
real losses could be much higher.

The situation in Donbass has long since entered a state of
humanitarian catastrophe, a situation exacerbated by the economic
blockade established by Kiev against the rebellious republics.

Russia’s Emergency Ministry has been sending humanitarian convoys
to Donbass on a regular basis - 31 convoys so far. They have
delivered over 39,000 tons of food supplies, medicine and
equipment needed to restore normal life in the war-torn region.